People who bought this also bought...

Skyward

By:
Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by:
Sophie Aldred

Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
746

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
708

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
707

Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race is trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible - assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

5 out of 5 stars

Nothing complex, just good story telling.

By
Justin
on
19-11-2018

The Fifth Season

The Broken Earth, Book 1

By:
N. K. Jemisin

Narrated by:
Robin Miles

Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
568

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
526

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
526

This is the way the world ends...for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

By
Anonymous User
on
26-07-2018

Sufficiently Advanced Magic

Arcane Ascension, Book 1

By:
Andrew Rowe

Narrated by:
Nick Podehl

Length: 21 hrs and 58 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
538

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
512

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
508

Five years ago Corin Cadence's brother entered the Serpent Spire - a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire's trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire's goddess. He never returned. Now it's Corin's turn. He's headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.

4 out of 5 stars

The Name Of The Wind meets The Maze Runner

By
Daniel
on
31-08-2017

The Fragment of Water

The Shattered Soul, Book 1

By:
Ben Hale

Narrated by:
Derek Perkins

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

0 out of 5 stars
0

Performance

0 out of 5 stars
0

Story

0 out of 5 stars
0

Born of magic in the final days of war, Draeken’s power is near absolute - until his soul shatters, leaving five fragments. Each possesses a single magic, and a consciousness of his own. Trained by the Hauntress, they secretly quell threats throughout the kingdoms, and their mastery grows with every passing age. But their time of unity has come, for a dangerous new foe has arrived.

Free the Darkness

King's Dark Tidings, Book 1

By:
Kel Kade

Narrated by:
Nick Podehl

Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
581

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
553

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
553

Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.

Deadwood, USA. A girl sneaks out just before dark to ride her new bike. Suddenly, the ground disappears beneath her. Waking up at the bottom of a deep pit, she sees an emergency rescue team above her. The people looking down see something far stranger.... That girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklin, a brilliant scientist and the leading world expert on what she discovered.

5 out of 5 stars

Clever, Cryptic and Creepy

By
Kristin
on
04-08-2016

Skyward

By:
Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by:
Sophie Aldred

Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
746

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
708

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
707

Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race is trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible - assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

5 out of 5 stars

Nothing complex, just good story telling.

By
Justin
on
19-11-2018

The Fifth Season

The Broken Earth, Book 1

By:
N. K. Jemisin

Narrated by:
Robin Miles

Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
568

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
526

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
526

This is the way the world ends...for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

By
Anonymous User
on
26-07-2018

Sufficiently Advanced Magic

Arcane Ascension, Book 1

By:
Andrew Rowe

Narrated by:
Nick Podehl

Length: 21 hrs and 58 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
538

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
512

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
508

Five years ago Corin Cadence's brother entered the Serpent Spire - a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire's trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire's goddess. He never returned. Now it's Corin's turn. He's headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.

4 out of 5 stars

The Name Of The Wind meets The Maze Runner

By
Daniel
on
31-08-2017

The Fragment of Water

The Shattered Soul, Book 1

By:
Ben Hale

Narrated by:
Derek Perkins

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

0 out of 5 stars
0

Performance

0 out of 5 stars
0

Story

0 out of 5 stars
0

Born of magic in the final days of war, Draeken’s power is near absolute - until his soul shatters, leaving five fragments. Each possesses a single magic, and a consciousness of his own. Trained by the Hauntress, they secretly quell threats throughout the kingdoms, and their mastery grows with every passing age. But their time of unity has come, for a dangerous new foe has arrived.

Free the Darkness

King's Dark Tidings, Book 1

By:
Kel Kade

Narrated by:
Nick Podehl

Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
581

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
553

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
553

Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.

Deadwood, USA. A girl sneaks out just before dark to ride her new bike. Suddenly, the ground disappears beneath her. Waking up at the bottom of a deep pit, she sees an emergency rescue team above her. The people looking down see something far stranger.... That girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklin, a brilliant scientist and the leading world expert on what she discovered.

5 out of 5 stars

Clever, Cryptic and Creepy

By
Kristin
on
04-08-2016

The Binding

By:
Bridget Collins

Narrated by:
Carl Prekopp

Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
229

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
214

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
214

Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a letter arrives summoning him to begin an apprenticeship. He will work for a Bookbinder, a vocation that arouses fear, superstition and prejudice - but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse. He will learn to handcraft beautiful volumes, and within each he will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, he can help. If there’s something you need to erase, he can assist. Your past will be stored safely in a book and you will never remember your secret, however terrible.

5 out of 5 stars

One of the best love stories, ever.

By
Susan
on
22-01-2019

The Singularity Trap

By:
Dennis E. Taylor

Narrated by:
Ray Porter

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
463

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
439

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
439

When Ivan Pritchard signs on as a newbie aboard the
Mad Astra, it's his final, desperate stab at giving his wife and children the life they deserve. He can survive the hazing of his crewmates, and how many times, really, can near-zero g make you vomit? But there's another challenge looming out there, in the farthest reaches of human exploration, that will test every man, woman and AI on the ship - and will force Ivan to confront the very essence of what makes him human.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book, great narration awesome story!

By
Anonymous User
on
08-06-2018

Polaris Rising

A Novel

By:
Jessie Mihalik

Narrated by:
Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
1

Performance

3 out of 5 stars
1

Story

5 out of 5 stars
1

In the far distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three high houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her high house is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.

The City of Brass

By:
S. A. Chakraborty

Narrated by:
Soneela Nankani

Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
91

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
85

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
85

Among the bustling markets of 18th century Cairo, the city's outcasts eke out a living swindling rich Ottoman nobles and foreign invaders alike. But alongside this new world, the old stories linger. Tales of djinn and spirits. Of cities hidden among the swirling sands of the desert, full of enchantment, desire and riches. Where magic pours down every street, hanging in the air like dust.

5 out of 5 stars

Loved It!

By
Ellen
on
03-04-2018

The Priory of the Orange Tree

By:
Samantha Shannon

Narrated by:
Liyah Summers

Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
3

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
1

Story

5 out of 5 stars
1

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction - but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

5 out of 5 stars

Surprising and gripping. Loved it!

By
Anonymous User
on
18-03-2019

14

By:
Peter Clines

Narrated by:
Ray Porter

Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
330

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
310

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
310

There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.

5 out of 5 stars

Precisely what I look for in a story!

By
C.J.R Flanagan
on
03-02-2014

Red Sister

Book of the Ancestor, Book 1

By:
Mark Lawrence

Narrated by:
Helen Duff

Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
363

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
352

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
354

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices' skills to deadly effect: it takes 10 years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder - guilty of worse.

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant... Again

By
Tegan
on
06-05-2017

The Worldship Humility

By:
R. R. Haywood

Narrated by:
Colin Morgan

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
35

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
33

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
33

It’s been 120 years since the 50 or so worldships containing the few million survivors of the human species set off after the planet Earth was destroyed by a meteor. On the Worldship Humility, Sam, a 30-year-old Airlock Operative, is bored. Living in space should be exciting and full of adventure, except it isn’t, and he fills his time hacking 3-D movie posters and holographic adverts outside the stores in the retail zone. Petty thief Yasmine Emile Dufont is also from the WS Humility, but she is not bored....

4 out of 5 stars

Hooked all the way through.

By
Anonymous User
on
24-02-2019

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Dark Star Trilogy, Book 1

By:
Marlon James

Narrated by:
Dion Graham

Length: 24 hrs and 1 min

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
5

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
5

Story

3.5 out of 5 stars
5

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter - and he always works alone. But when he is engaged to find a child who disappeared three years ago, he must break his own rules, joining a group of eight very different mercenaries working together to find the boy. Following the lost boy's scent from one ancient city to another, into dense forests and across deep rivers, Tracker starts to wonder: who is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And, most important of all, who is telling the truth and who is lying?

Foundryside

By:
Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by:
Tara Sands

Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
14

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
14

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
14

The city of Tevanne runs on scrivings, industrialised magical inscriptions that make inanimate objects sentient; they power everything, from walls to wheels to weapons. Scrivings have brought enormous progress and enormous wealth - but only to the four merchant Houses who control them. Everyone else is a servant or slave, or they eke a precarious living in the hellhole called the Commons. There's not much in the way of work for an escaped slave like Sancia Grado, but she has an unnatural talent that makes her one of the best thieves in the city.

2 out of 5 stars

For early teens

By
Michaela
on
17-02-2019

Dungeon Born

Divine Dungeon Series, Book 1

By:
Dakota Krout

Narrated by:
Vikas Adam

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
114

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
110

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
112

For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart.

2 out of 5 stars

Badly written

By
Amazon Customer
on
04-02-2019

Revenger

By:
Alastair Reynolds

Narrated by:
Clare Corbett

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
114

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
106

Story

4 out of 5 stars
105

The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.... Captain Rackamore and his crew do.

5 out of 5 stars

Great, gripping adventure story

By
Matthew M
on
15-11-2016

Publisher's Summary

Discover the extraordinary debut that has got everyone talking.

Mild-mannered headmaster, Thomas Senlin prefers his adventures to be safely contained within the pages of a book. So when he loses his new bride shortly after embarking on the honeymoon of their dreams, he is ill-prepared for the trouble that follows.

To find her, Senlin must enter the Tower of Babel - a world of geniuses and tyrants, of menace and wonder, of unusual animals and mysterious machines. And if he hopes to ever see his wife again, he will have to do more than just survive...this quiet man of letters must become a man of action.

Unique and Amazing!

Would you listen to Senlin Ascends again? Why?

Senlin Ascends is a fantastic book with a unique setting that gives the reader an ever-changing environment and dynamic cast that will keep the reader always looking for more.John Bank's is the perfect fit for Thomas Senlin, and does an admirable job of a wide range of voices.Can't recommend this book enough.

Slow to start..but...

Ok..I nearly gave up on this a number of times before the third act. Note..once he gets to the ‘ports’ you’re in for a good time but it’s painfully dull until then. A little bit like Bilbo Baggins or a Arthur (Hitchhikers guide) type of awkward and plenty boring..until the pace steps up. By the end I was queuing up the next book right away. Steampunk and old Victorian themes throughout give it a certain unpredictability because nothing is explained in a way that you want..but little by little the pieces begin to fit. The narrator does his best with the voices and accents though variety is not a strong point. Average overall but very promising for the next book.

Picked it up on a whim, and SO glad I did.

What a delightful, wildly imaginative story! It is beautifully written and the plot just continues to thicken as the story progresses. I'm so impressed! The scope of the story kepps getting bigger and bigger and the characters are really fun. The protagonist is a bit naive for ages and that's usually quite frustrating, but the character is so likable that the author pulls it off without it getting annoying.The narration is fantastic too, his voice is perfectly suited and he rolls the story along with excellent pacing. His accents are acceptable and he doesn't give the women stupid voices.Give it a go!

interesting ,intricate and intriguing. I<br />

I enjoyed listening very much and will continue with the series. There are many moral dilemmas and no one seems to be who they say they are.its not a comedy as there is too much suffering and death but there are some grand and hilarious moments.

Modern classic

Very impressed by this book and the world that has been created. Excellent character development for the main character, Senlin.

Sort by:

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Simon

21-01-2018

Senlin Snags Me By The End!

It's not often I feel conflicted about what rating to give a book but this is definitely an example. Senlin Ascends really is a pure fantasy, almost a Fantasia in the sense that there is no attempt to do any kind of vaguely logical world-building. Instead a mild mannered small school headteacher is plunged into a mystical tower which is idealised as the height of human achievement when in reality it's anything but. Senlin is driven to explore the levels of this enormous structure, each contains its own almost self-contained society with absolutely no suggestion of anything about how they interact paying more than lip service to logic. It's almost like an extended fable.

This of course gives the writer enormous ease and freedom and Bancroft doesn't hold back filling each of the levels or "Ringdoms" with a colourful army of larger than life characters and crazy inventions such as the "Beer-me-up" I think it was. It made me laugh at the thought of it anyway - an end to climate change? The narration by John Banks suits the tone of the book very well. He delivered the author's at times incredibly clever and literate prose in just the right manner.

To me though the whole thing only really took off in the last three to four hours when a lot of threads came together and the story and its hero really seemed to emerge as a strong character. For this reason and the fact that this will drive you insane if you need any level of logic to apply to your fantasy I'm sticking at four stars for the whole thing.

However, by the end of those last few hours I feel as if I've been snagged on Senlin's coat tails and will likely take the second of what I've heard is to be a four book series when it comes out in March.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Lachlan Kendall

14-07-2018

My Favourite Book! Narration fits perfectly!

I started Senlin Ascends yesterday, I was having a bad day, one of those ones where nothing seems to go the way you want it to. By chapter 3 I realised my day wasn’t actually that bad. Thomas Senlin, on the other hand, was having a really bad day… several actually, but he’s really good at dealing with everything life throws at him.

Thomas Senlin is a mild-mannered headmaster from a small town out in the middle of nowhere. Inspired by the legends and books, Senlin and his newlywed wife, Marya, travel to the world’s greatest marvel, a tower stretching into the sky with unnumbered ringdoms stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake, the Tower of Babel. Within the first hour of their arrival, Senlin loses his wife in the chaotic ever evolving throng of people and stores in and around the tower.

Now at this stage, you’re probably thinking, how could Bancroft possibly turn Senlin losing his wife into a nice, interesting book, it shouldn’t be that hard to find each other again. Well, imagine you’re in New York City in rush hour, there are people everywhere, and it’s easy to get separated. Then imagine all the buildings look similar and regularly move around. Then take this idea of the crowded, ever-evolving, chaotic mess of this imaginary NYC, multiply it, and start stacking each city on top of each other. Each layer slightly different from the one before, posing new and different challenges before you can pass to the next layer, people with their own agendas who want to rob you and make you do things you don’t want to do and then you have something that looks like an easy version of the situation Senlin finds himself in.

Setting

The Tower of Babel is an immensely interesting setting for this novel. Each layer is fundamentally different from the layer below, each specialising in something different, and Bancroft creates his own miniature world in each different layer. The book is split into three distinct sections (they’re really good indications on where to have a break) each occurring in a different part of the tower, and we get to spend a good amount of time in each of these very different, but also similar worlds.

Bancroft does an excellent job of describing this fascinating steampunk world he has created. He also has an amazing way of illustrating scenes through some very unique metaphors, which I really loved.

Characters

As you can probably guess, Senlin is the main character of the book. He’s a mild-mannered, thoughtful person, as you’d expect for a headmaster, and not at all used to the unfamiliar scenarios he finds himself in. Thus begins the epic development of Thomas Senlin, a seemingly ordinary guy, thrown headfirst into an extraordinary world. I admire Senlin greatly; he takes everything in his stride and just keeps on going regardless of what the world throws at him.

My favourite description of Senlin comes fairly early on in the book, and is probably one a lot of readers can identify with:

Senlin loved nothing more in the world than a warm hearth to set his feet upon and a good book to pour his whole mind into. While an evening storm rattled the shutters and a glass of port wine warmed in his hand, Senlin would read into the wee hours of the night.

Other characters come and go throughout the series as Senlin moves about the tower, but we get deep insights into the lives and driving forces behind these characters. Overall, Bancroft does a fantastic job of thoroughly developing his characters.

Plot

The plot can be summarised fairly succinctly, Senlin wants to climb the tower and find his wife. The tower does not want to be climbed. Conflict ensues.

In reality, it’s a bit more complex than that, Senlin’s character development really shines in those moments of conflict, and it becomes evident how the circumstances and events change him.

As I said earlier, the story is broken down into 3 smaller parts, and Josiah does a fantastic job of bringing the events in each part together for the conclusion of the book.

Other Thoughts

I really loved this book. It’s the first steampunk book I’ve ever read, and I absolutely adored it. The world is amazing, the characters are well thought out and interesting, and it wraps these aspects together with a great plot, and some really good prose.

If I haven’t convinced you of how good this book is, Josiah was originally self-published, and Orbit has seen how good his work is and offered him a publishing deal. The narration of this book is amazing. John Banks does a fantastic job of making Senlin real, and the voice fits him perfectly.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

JPA

29-01-2018

Unique. Brilliant.

I've never read a story quite like it.

Victorianesque in setting and feel, with steampunk elements and an industrious, mysterious tower as its main focus. This single POV story witnesses true character progression and setting discovery. Twists, turns, alliances and betrayals.

Enter the tower and walk along side Senlin as his ardous climb through level and status surprises and amazes you.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Nicholaspoiuy

05-03-2019

An Epic adventure story in a steampunk world.

The book gets high marks for characters, plot, story, world building and pacing. It’s all set in a world full of steampunk technology where mysterious pseudo scientists manufacturer steam powered airships and chimera / cyborg like automatons integrated with humans and animals. The story and characters are similar to those in The Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, except rather than the action moving from mobile city to city, it all happens around a tower that is as tall as Mount Everest and divided into 64 county / city sized floors / levels. If you liked The Mortal Engines series or the Abhorsen series by Garth Nyx (Sabriel, Lirael) then you will definitely like the three books of the Tower of Babel series. The narrator was pleasant to listen to but I did set the speed to 1.25x for a more enjoyable listen.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Customer

24-02-2019

Can't wait to read the next one!

Loved this throughout. Josiah Bancroft has a unique way of painting a picture, I really love his style.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

k jones

29-01-2019

Brilliantly original

I generally read fantasy fiction, JK Rowling, Philip Pullman and Horowitz being favourites, this was unlike anything I have read before, I enjoyed it very much and will buy the next books thanks

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Rakesh S

20-10-2018

Slow Start, Good Finish

Found it really hard in the first couple of hours. Warmed a lot to it by the end of the book. Just bought the second volume.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

phil mccarthy

03-10-2018

Poetry wrapped in steampunk wrapped in adventure.

A stunning adventure beautifully written and spoken. Like the tower itself, The deeper you venture the more fantastical and exciting it becomes.